The Heavens: From Film and Mythology to Conquering Myriad Realms

Chapter 196 Laying the Pawns, the Rift in the Sword Realm

Lu Yao looked at Dugu Yifang's stand-in in front of him, his expression slightly speechless.

"You've become addicted to pretending."

Grandmaster Lu Yao's aura erupted directly, enveloping him.

The stand-in's expression changed drastically. He looked at Lu Yao in horror, cold sweat pouring down his face. He had only ever felt such a terrifying aura from Dugu Yifang, and even that was nothing compared to the person in front of him.

"Sir, spare your life!"

Knowing that continuing the act would cost him his life, the stand-in immediately knelt down and collapsed in front of Lu Yao.

"If only you had known better sooner."

Lu Yao chuckled, not expecting this stand-in to be so flexible.

"To tell you the truth, your city lord is dead."

Lu Yao immediately told the news of Dugu Yifang's death.

"What! The city lord is dead? This...!"

The stand-in stared wide-eyed at Lu Yao, but a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

With Dugu Yifang dead, his chance as a substitute has come.

In order to make him play the role of the city lord of Wushuang City, Dugu Yifang gave him special training, including his demeanor, movements, habits, etc., so that he was almost exactly the same as the real person.

Even Dugu Yifang's ultimate skill—Invincible Overlord Hand—was passed on to his stand, poor stand, who had to submit to him.

It's no exaggeration to say that as long as Dugu Yifang himself doesn't expose the double, no one in Wushuang City will be able to recognize that the current city lord of Wushuang City is a double.

"I am willing to pledge my loyalty to you, sir, even unto death!"

The stand-in's mind worked quickly, and he immediately understood Lu Yao's purpose in coming.

With this leverage over him, Lu Yao could easily control him, leaving him no choice but to obey.

Moreover, the stand-in could clearly sense that he was far from being Lu Yao's match and could easily crush him.

If Lu Yao were weaker than him, he would definitely have silenced him. After all, as long as this secret was kept hidden, he would be the city lord of Wushuang City, and his thousands of disciples would obey his orders.

"You're smart to talk to me. Tell me about your situation."

Lu Yao smiled, surprised that the stand-in in front of him was quite clever.

"Your Excellency, my real name is Xu Minghao. More than ten years ago, I was brought to Wushuang City by Lord Dugu and became his substitute."

"Whenever the city lord goes out, he asks me to impersonate him and oversee Wushuang City."

Xu Minghao quickly told Lu Yao about his situation, not daring to hide anything.

“Your strength is too weak. Now that Dugu Yifang is dead, you can openly use the resources of Wushuang City. You need to improve to the Grandmaster realm as soon as possible, otherwise your identity will be exposed sooner or later.”

Lu Yao glanced at Xu Minghao and was somewhat dissatisfied with his martial arts level.

"My subordinate understands!"

Xu Minghao looked excited, clearly indicating that he had the same plan.

Previously, he was just a stand-in. If he dared to use the resources of Wushuang City to improve his strength, Dugu Yifang would definitely kill him with one punch. He could only use what Dugu Yifang bestowed upon him, which was extremely frustrating.

Lu Yao nodded and with a wave of his hand, sent a stream of icy blue light into Xu Minghao's body.

"This is!"

Feeling the icy, foreign true energy within his body, Xu Minghao's expression changed.

"The Life and Death Talisman activates every two months. This is your antidote for a year. As long as you obey my orders, you will naturally be safe from death."

Lu Yao said calmly.

He naturally didn't believe that Xu Minghao was loyal to him; he was just afraid that Xu Minghao would expose that he was a stand-in.

Once he breaks through to the Grandmaster realm, he will definitely have the idea of ​​not being able to keep his money. It would be better to control him now.

"My subordinate understands."

Xu Minghao's expression changed slightly, but he managed a forced smile and said stiffly.

At this moment, Xu Minghao felt a chill in his heart. He did indeed have the idea of ​​breaking through to the Grandmaster realm and then taking the opportunity to escape from Lu Yao.

After all, given that he is a grandmaster and knows all of Dugu Yifang's habits, he believes Lu Yao will be unable to do anything about him.

Unfortunately, he died before he could achieve his goal. He didn't know how powerful the Life and Death Talisman was, but it was clear that it wasn't so easy to remove.

"Your task now is to break through to the Grandmaster realm. I'll only give you one year."

Lu Yao narrowed his eyes slightly. Based on his perception, Xu Minghao was currently in the late stage of the Innate Realm, and his true qi was solidified, so he could break through at any time.

If Lu Yao couldn't break through even after acquiring the resources of Wushuang City within a year, he would have no choice but to abandon this pawn.

After all, as the city lord of Wushuang City, if Xu Minghao doesn't take action for a year, he will easily arouse suspicion, and Lu Yao won't bother him then.

Lu Yao didn't necessarily need Xu Minghao; he just needed to control Xu Minghao to quickly take over Wushuang City.

Moreover, Wushuang City has a swordsman named Dugu Jian, whose strength has reached the peak of the Grandmaster level, and he is not so easy to defeat.

That is to say, Dugu Jian was in seclusion. Otherwise, Xu Minghao would never have been able to hide his cultivation level from Dugu Jian.

If Xu Minghao was still at the Innate Realm when Dugu Jian emerged from seclusion, and had used the resources of Wushuang City, then he would be doomed.

"Yes, sir!"

Xu Minghao was also aware of the danger involved; if he couldn't break through quickly, he would die sooner or later.

When he looked up, Lu Yao was no longer in the room, and even the Qi barrier had disappeared at some point.

"Whoo~"

Xu Minghao exhaled, calmed himself down, and without further hesitation, set off for the inner treasury of Wushuang City to use its martial arts resources.

……

After leaving Wushuang City, Lu Yao arrived at the shore of a lake at dawn.

"Heavenly Origin Sword Qi!"

Lu Yao's true energy surged, condensing into a terrifying sword aura in front of him. The overflowing sword aura carved sword marks on the lake.

The Heavenly Origin Sword Qi in front of Lu Yao became increasingly solid, almost condensing into a tangible divine sword.

The azure-blue light on the Tianyuan Sword Qi kept flashing, and the sharp sword light was so dazzling that it was almost blinding.

"coming!"

Lu Yao's expression shifted, and he felt the allure of the Sword Realm once again.

In the world of swords, there is a distinction between Sword Mountain and Sword Pool. Those with righteous sword thoughts reside on Sword Mountain, cultivating their noble spirit; those with evil sword thoughts fall into Sword Pool.

Lu Yao was also very curious about which type of sword intent he possessed, since he had always used sword techniques as a means of defending himself, not as a true swordsman.

Feeling the allure of the Sword Realm, Lu Yao did not resist this time. A crack appeared in front of Lu Yao.

Looking at the cracks before him, Lu Yao was astonished; he didn't know how to describe the scene before him.

Through the crack that emitted a cold, eerie light, the Sword Realm was faintly visible.

In the hazy distance, one could see the majestic Sword Mountain, with sword shadows flashing among it, as if thousands of sword energies were crisscrossing; the Sword Pool was dark and deep, faintly exuding an evil aura.

The sky above the Sword Realm seemed to be dyed a pale blue by the intent of swords, with strange lights occasionally flashing by, as if it were a mysterious and dangerous world of swords.